Many Central Michigan Life readers commented on my previous letters to the editor published during the 2017 Spring Semester identifying CMU’s glaring need for leadership from President George Ross in fundraising and its need to hire a trained university development professional to lead our efforts.

The president and other conservative voices have consistently, and effectively, distracted the public from the point of kneeling during the national anthem. From the start of this movement a clear effort has been made to discredit the message it has been promoting­—the fight against racial injustice.

Twenty years ago, Central Michigan University reviewed and reorganized the academic structure of our university. It resulted in one new academic college. This year, another reorganization effort was announced. It was met with some push back, to say the least.

As the opinion editor at Central Michigan Life, I’ve been trying to find people from all walks of life to contribute their opinions to this space. As someone correctly noticed and emailed me, the opinion section is pretty much just “a bunch of white people.”

For days it has been impossible to escape the controversy – some National Football League players are choosing to kneel during the playing of the national anthem before games. At a Sept. 22 rally in Alabama, President Donald Trump criticized the players' silent protests by saying, “Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say ‘Get that son of a b**** off the field right now.’”

In our Sept. 21 edition, we introduced you to the successes and challenges international students face when adjusting to life in America. Something we noticed while speaking to them was the uneasiness many of them have experienced. Many of the students told us their families were uncomfortable with their decision to attend school in America because of the national discussion on immigration.

When we were asked to provide some information on academic advising, careers and student success it was difficult to think of how to cover all the student resources Central Michigan University offers in a brief, yet informative way.